Friday, March 25, 2011

I encourage you to follow the link above to a post of one of the former staffers at New Day Foster Home. She had a sweet baby girl in January. At the same time, a Chinese mother was having a baby girl. The Chinese baby ended up in the foster home...which is better than so many unwanted baby's fates there. I am considering reading a book about the stories of Chinese mothers whose baby girls were taken from them at birth. I praise Jesus that I live in a country where my desires are important to my family and my baby girl is considered priceless, not disposable! I know that cultures are all different and I am fascinated by China. I know they have such a rich history, however, they are also faced with so many problems I do not understand.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

So I have embarked on a weight loss journey for the first time- maybe ever. I have never spent much time concerned with what I weigh, or what I eat. And I have certainly never exercised regularly. Well, I'm a grown up now. A grown up who has not lost her baby weight but her baby is 20 months old. Chick-fil-A's Wellness Department offers free One-to-One coaching for Operators and Spouses. Blake was their "poster child" at seminar so I decided to sign up. I did a body age assessment while I was there, and it turns out I'm 30 (just my body....and I don't think that will be good enough for the Chinese government to give me a baby yet.) The ONLY thing that I did well on was flexibility and my blood test. They also tested my strength, body composition, resting heart rate and VO2 max, and some other things I think I blocked out.Now I get a phone call from a fitness expert and nutritionalist once a month. They have told me what to eat and how to exercise. Just because you own a Chick-fil-A, doesn't mean you should eat a Chicken biscuit with cheese for every breakfast and a Spicy Sandwich with a Banana Pudding Milkshake every day. However, I can continue to eat breakfast and lunch there and still lose 15 lbs by summer. I am suppose to eat within the 1 st hour I am awake and every 3 hours through out the day. My meals should be 5 handfuls. 2 handfuls of fruit or veggies, 2 handfuls of grain and 1 handful of protein. My snacks should be a handful of protein. I will let you know how this goes. So far, I am trying to remember that this is a lifestyle change...not a diet. If I want to indulge in something small (like a banana pudding milkshake) I should be able to. I just have to keep portions smaller.

Exercise- I am doing Street Jams 3 times a week at Northridge Fitness. It is so much fun and I suffer afterwards. Street Jams is a dance-type group class with hip hop and latin songs. Just call me Beyonce. Gracie thinks it is hilarious when I try out a dance at home. Maybe I'll upload a video one day. Tonight I went on a bike ride while Blake ran pushing G in her stroller. Sadly, I had trouble keeping up. Blake is doing a big tri this weekend!!! In TTOWN!! We are excited to cheer him on.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I am getting a little tired of this cold and flu season. I have seriously never been sick so much in my life. Gracie and I just got done doing our breathing treatments, and Sydney just came over to hang for the day. She has a runny nose and cough too, so I figure they will be fine swapping germs. When we started preschool, I knew she would get sick more than before. I just wanted prepared to get every illness too! What kills me is that Blake stays healthy as a horse. Is it because of my asthma? Is my immune system just weaker? Is it because he gets so much exercise? I wonder....As I am typing this blog, Gracie keeps running over and wiping her snotty nose on my sleeve. hmmm.....no wonder I get sick!

I am so sad for the Japanese. This earthquake and tsunami has done some serious damage. I can't stop watching the news though. It is like a car wreck, you don't want to see but you can stop looking.